musicOMH.com - Blog

Humphrey Lyttelton, RIP

Sad news: Humphrey Lyttelton has died, aged 86, following surgery for an aortic aneurysm.

The host of Radio 4's I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue, the panel show game that gave rise to the Mornington Crescent phenomenon, "Humph" was of course a legendary jazz musician too.

Radiohead's South Park, Oxford gig featured a set from him, and his improvisational style was said to have influenced the band's Kid A and Amnesiac jazz stylings.

Camden Crawl live blog: recovery positions

We're all in our best recovery positions following the Camden Crawl, and writing up the evening reviews in fits and starts. In truth, and I don't know about the others, but more sleep would have been good. And lots of detoxinating juices. And a foot massage. Can we have masseurs next year please?

Some of the queues on Saturday night seemed to exceed Friday. The Earl of Camden in particular seemed to be queued up all night, and the Barfly's downstairs had spirals of queues. NW1 and the Dublin Castle also seemed, at various times, to have as many people outside them as inside.

Pull Tiger Tail were last-minute additions to the Dublin Castle bill for a slot that had been mooted as being everyone from Madness to The Enemy. They attracted a big crowd.

As ever with these things, set clashes were inevitable and there were several bands we wanted to see but didn't. Between us all we did see a lot of bands and artists though, many for the first time, and almost everything seemed to go like clockwork. The Camden Crawl's status amongst the year's music events burgeons every year, and this year was the biggest and best yet.

This is the last Camden Crawl live blog update. Head over to the festivals section from Monday for the full reports.

Camden Crawl live blog: Day 2

Blearily, we're awakening to the second of the Camden Crawl's two days and nights. The Wombats headline tonight.

Last night, for the most part, ran smoothly. Full night reviews will appear on Sunday.

The festival's mobile text queue alerts thing informed of venues with queues so wristbanded wanderers could better plan their time, and queues were building as the evening progressed. But there was plenty of room early on.

Soko attracted such a crowd that one of the festival's organisers couldn't get in to see her at the Crescent, while expectant queues were also facing one-in-one-out situations for Ladyhawke at the Earl of Camden and, predictably, Crystal Castles at the Purple Turtle.

Surprise of the evening was exactly how closely Sam Sparro resembled Jamie Lee Curtis...

Camden Crawl live blog: Enter Shikari

Thus it was that wristband wearers were shoehorned onto a bus bound for the northern climes of Kentish Town and lo! they did see Enter Shikari.

Who seemed like nice quiet boys in the car on the way to the venue. Manager Keith (the lead singer's father, I was told en route) was in boisterous mood, clearly looking forward to the gig which began just after 3pm in the blacked-out Bull & Gate, next to the much larger Forum.

Mr Lead Singer said: "Remember, this is not the Babyshambles. All the other bands are shit indie bands. This is the only time you're going to have fun." And so they did, Mr Lead Singer resembling the Honey Monster with his metaller howls and blond hair. They claimed not to have rehearsed, but the moshpit at the front didn't seem to mind. Enter Shikari had just provided the most energetic hour of the day so far and, unpracticed or not, they gave good value to their MySpaz backers.

And so to the evening's entertainment, when I mutate to become two (or maybe three) reviewers and we produce a joint epic of the evening's festivities when we're sober enough to try. Amongst the acts on tonight are Sam Sparro, Thecocknbullkid, Crystal Castles, The Wombats, Post War Years, Hatcham Social, Lykke Li, Ipso Facto and Youthmovies. It's going to be busy...

Until tomorrow then.

Camden Crawl live blog: calm before storm?

The wind has picked up and it's bloody cold. Could there be a storm brewing?

A storm of a different kind could well be in the offing, but it's possible we may be warming up in it. Later this afternoon we hoof it (or perhaps take a bus) up to Kentish Town for MySpaz's "secret" gig at the Bull & Gate.

Enter Shikari are the not-so-secret-at-all band being offered in the 100-capacity boozer. Already wristbanded wanderers are to be seen pointing their feet in a northward direction.

For now though, time to get out of the vox pop media circus and see some of the afternoon's events. At the moment I'm listening to The Good, The Bad & The Queen - a band I first saw in Camden, up the road at the Roundhouse - on the Buck's Head's jukebox. The people from Bloody Awful Poetry are programming the afternoon's festivities - every table has a laminated poem for our delectation, and heartfelt strumming by boys in hats seems to be the order of the day.

As for the schedule for this evening, there are some unfortunate clashes, but we'll do our best.

Camden Crawl live blog: Yoav

Yoav has just been setting up for what's billed as an acoustic gig, to a handful of media people.

Of course he's an acoustic artist anyway, and his acoustic set still involved setting up his various pedals. As he laid down his backing tracks though, it was clear his way with a fretboard is not based n trickery. He's playing Adore Adore as I write this. The guy is just incredibly talented.

We interviewed Yoav recently, in which he talked about his pedal set-ups that allow him to play something like trance music on an acoustic guitar.

More soon...

Camden Crawl live blog

So here we are at the seventh Camden Crawl. The weather is so far cloudy, but the rain's staying off.

Already early birds are queueing up for their wristbands behind the Electric Ballroom, and the media centre is a buzzing hive full of busy bees, with various TV companies lining up chats with Lykke Li, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Hadouken! and Ipso Facto, so name just a few.

Acoustic showcases this afternoon include acts playing with full mains electricity this evening and tomorrow. Once we collate our schedules we'll have a better idea what we might manage to see.

Last year I must have walked between Mornington Crescent and Chalk Farm at least three times. Alas, Camden Council have still not built a monorail.

More updates as the day progresses. If you're at the Crawl, let us know...

Glastonbury - Not At Good As It Used to Be?

Queue here if you think Glastonbury's Not As Good As It Used To Be...

So here we are, two days after Glastonbury tickets went on sale, and for the first time in Lord knows when, they didn't all sell out in minutes. In fact, there are so many left that in a somewhat desperate measure, if you didn't register first time round, now's your chance to do so again. Should this be seen as a cause for celebration or a national disaster? Is the festival really, genuinely, Not As Good As It Used To Be?

The answer depends on the reasons behind the apparent lack of scramble for tickets. Many bloggers are blaming Jay-Z - a less than typical Glastonbury crowd-puller. Others shout out about the price - £155 (£164 with unavoidable booking fees and postage) plus travel, food and drink for the weekend makes it an expensive holiday.

You could get a week in Greece - or Ibiza - for less, and if your budget doesn't stretch to both, that might not be a hard choice to make. It would be a desperate irony for Glastonbury to be one of the first casualties of climate change but perhaps successive years of bad weather have finally taken their toll.

As the mud becomes deeper, let's not forget that we now have a generation of kids who have grown up under such an increasingly ludicrous and restrictive Health and Safety culture that many have missed out on the outdoor activities older music fans grew up enjoying, and as such consider it an affront to their human rights to be denied access to television, a PSP2 and a warm shower twice a day.

This last in particular has been cited by friends in recent years as the reason their teenaged kids choose to stay at home and watch Glasto on the telly instead. Free entry over the fence is also a thing of the past.

So, even more sadly, is the sense of freedom that once existed within Glastonbury's hallowed fields. It used to be a place where the normal rules did not apply, where many a blind eye was turned and you could succumb to most indulgences safe in the knowledge that no-one was looking over your shoulder. That, too, went out of the window last year, as overbearing security guards whipped spliffs out of the mouths of anyone daring to light up (assuming, of course, they had survived the sniffer dogs on the buses en route and the bag-searches at the gate). This was not the Glastonbury we had come to know and love.

A knock-on effect of the weather last year was that atmospheric conditions contributed to the poor quality of sound on the Pyramid Stage. The Eavises could do little to help that, but there's much they can do prevent the holy grail of festivals from sliding too far into the corporate mud. Friendlier stewards for one - people who might think about treating you like someone who's spent the best part of a week's wages coming to their show, rather than a crack addict on the lookout for their next murder victim.

I object - strongly - to being asked a second time whether my rucksack contains drugs by a steward who issues a warning that I am breaking the law if I lie after I have replied 'no' first time round. I object even more to being asked if I smoke and then, when I answer that I don't, being lectured on where I can and can't have a fag on-site regardless. Courtesy takes very little effort but makes a world of difference. Entering Glastonbury Festival should not be akin to a lecture from your prissiest maiden aunt. And in the UK, we are innocent until proven guilty.

Greater genuine accessibility to younger fans might also be another option to stop the rot. Rather than patronising nonsense such as making tickets available via mobile phone as well as the internet, what about a reduced rate for under 21's or full-time students? £50 say, or something else they may be more likely to afford? A colleague is going for the first time this year at the age of 29 not only because it's something he must do before he's 30 but because this is the first year he's been able to afford it.

Glastonbury used to be special. It used to be a weekend when you could expect to be transported to another planet, free from the mundane world outside, were there was a different (and often better) set of morals, and the doors of perception would open in more ways than one. That special feeling wasn't there last year, and the rain and the mud wasn't the only reason.

Of course, Glastonbury now has to compete with other festivals. Some smaller, some cleaner, some more family-friendly. Bestival does most things Glastonbury does, and in the most part does them better in all but size. But size isn't everything. Other festivals still have the feeling of freedom you used to get on Worthy Farm before security was placed before it.

Finally, this year, more than probably any other, most festivals have better music. Deliberately trying to shove a genre of music you know is not your average customer's favourite down their throats is not a clever business move. It's as patronising and wrong-headed as trying to be down wiv da kidz by accusing them of being too stupid to use a computer.

Last year's Glastonbury was, pretty much, hell. Bearable hell in places - Arctic Monkeys in the rain, Justice in the Dance Tent - but hell nonetheless. On a particularly cold, wet, miserable moment in the middle of Sunday afternoon, a thought slid into my head that had never shown its face there before: "If I don't get tickets next year, it wouldn't be the end of the world". I pushed it out immediately, but if this year's ticket sales experience doesn't act as the wake up call it should be, next year I may have to listen.

AOL buys Bebo

The third biggest "social networking" site, Bebo, has been gulped down.

Following News Corp's acquisition of MySpace, Microsoft's investment in Facebook and CBS's purchase of last.fm, AOL, part of media giant Time Warner, has reportedly paid US$850m for Bebo, which claims a global membership of about 40 million users.

So whichever social networking site you prefer, rest assured that a giant American conglomerate now supports your messaging, photos and events calendar.

Lovebox 2008 - acts confirmed

Lovebox was superb last year, but this year already looks like it could be even better, having pulled a few rabbits out of the hat early on in the Flaming Lips, Goldfrapp and the Human League. The undercard looks good too, with Lightspeed Champion, The Glimmers, Black Seeds and Stanton Warriors.

I reckon it's another feather in the cap for the smaller festival, and I might be getting a bit older but I definitely prefer somewhere that offers you a bit of space if you need it, a choice of a crowded dancefloor, the open field or a heaving tent. More recently at T in the Park, I've found too many people per square inch for my liking, and that's from someone who uses the tube most days - you don't really want the same effect in a field. With Lovebox, all were enjoyed to good effect last year - here's hoping for more of the same!

Anyone else agree with my festival sentiments?

In praise of the ICA

Quite apart from the cosy gig venue tucked away at the back, where I've seen everyone from Luke Haines to Fuck Buttons perform, London's Institute of Contemporary Arts (the ICA to its friends) is in so many other ways a league apart.

I've been coming here to see gigs for years, but there's so much else to the place.

For instance, in which other gig venue can you get married? They have a reception area, probably upstairs amongst a selection of art galleries. Where else on the gig circuit offers free and reliable WiFi internet access? This lovely detail is the reason I'm writing this post - because I can. Where else can you get food as well as drink before a gig? Where else is located on The Mall? In fact, where else can you also see films and browse paintings and sculptures, and even see the latter being made?

The line-ups are pretty impressive too. It's Yeasayer tonight; MGMT played here last week. These gigs were all sold out well in advance.

I know there's a subsidy set-up here that's not available elsewhere. But when a venue demonstrably makes so much good use of its subsidy, it's a positive argument for more of its kind. Hurrah for the ICA.

Check out their website for details of what's going on at www.ica.org.uk.

Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree

It was leaked last November so it's a reasoble bet that it's been heard by a lot of people already, but on Monday 25th February Goldfrapp's fourth album Seventh Tree is finally available to buy.

For fans of Goldfrapp's last two electro-centric records who missed the debut, Felt Mountain, there's much to bemuse. And while there are rhythmic and atmospheric harks back to that first - still gorgeous - record, Seventh Tree is a more complete work than that, or indeed Black Cherry and Supernature.

Will Gregory has amassed some truly gorgeous synth sounds. On Cologne Cerrone Houdini there's a plunky bass that's surely straight out of Berlin's Take My Breath Away. And it does - this track seems destined to soundtrack an advert for chocolate. Or sex. Or maybe both together.

Caravan Girl is the poppiest moment on the record, but it's the hues and shades of the subtler songs that make this album what it is.

Anyway, John has reviewed it here. Four stars, he says, and that's despite no deviant theremin sex moments, for shame.

The whole shebang is streaming at their MySpaz page. What do you make of it?

Beijing, By Jings! China's Alternative Music Scene

Two of the words in this post's title began with the letter B. Neither of those words was "BRITs".

No, instead this post concerns something on a rather different level to being told that a superannuated boy band make the best music in Britain, and that somehow M.I.A. wasn't even worthy of a nomination, even if she'd wanted one.

Well away from Earl's Court, ITV and industry hand-wringing, musicOMH.com's netjetter-in-chief Alvin Chan has knocked up a little ditty of a feature on Beijing's burgeoning alternative music scene. You can read the fruits of his toil here.

One of the most intriguing points in his piece, at least to me, is the difference one live music venue can make, even to a city the size of the Chinese capital. Filling in a survey the other day, I was asked which was my favourite live music venue. I think there might be a blog post on that in the near future.

Massive Attack To Curate Meltdown 2008

Portishead are back in our midst with a new album this year, and as if by coincidence, Massive Attack have emerged from the woodwork too.

In quick succession Robert Del Naja and co have announced a new album due for release in September, a Glastonbury Other Stage headlining slot, and now that they'll become the first group to curate the South Bank Centre's Meltdown festival. It's the 15th such shindig, and runs from 14th to 22nd June.

Massive Attack haven't been away as long as Ms Gibbons and Messrs Barrow and Utley, mind, but it's looking like a Bristol renaissance of sorts all the same. All we need now is Tricky.

The trip-hoppers of course follow in the footsteps of Jarvis, Nick Cave, Morrissey, Patti Smith, David Bowie, Lee 'Scratch' Perry', Robert Wyatt, Scott Walker and the late John Peel as curators of the event.

So who's playing? We don't know yet, but I reckon I can hazard a guess at three of the acts they'll be booking already. Want a clue? Two I'm thinking of are solo female singers. One's been around for decades and the other recently released her debut album. A third is, like Del Naja, a sometime pretty boy front man who's getting on a bit, but still definitely has what it takes, in various guises...

Whoever gets booked, the final word has to go to Michael Lynch, the SBC's excitable CEO: “Meltdown 2008 will be Massive!”

The Great Fire Of Camden: Hawley Smoke

Amid much OMGing from news sites' comments forums, the full extent of the devastation visited upon NW1 on Saturday night hit home.

Confusion amongst some news organisations was the only light relief from seeing a well-known part of Camden engulfed in flames. On BBC News 24 the newscaster referred to the Hawley Arms as a "nightclub". No, it's a pub. Here's the evidence:

Better still were the names of celebrities listed as regular clientele. Heard of "Neil Fielding" or "Neil Gallagher"? Me neither.

So yes, along with just about everyone from London who has anything to do with music, I've of course been to the Hawley too many times to count. Yes, the beehive was there more often than not, sat on her own, eating lunch and not being interrupted. I've interviewed artistes there (on one occasion the beehive interrupted proceedings) too - the upstairs area being popular for such activities during daytime.

Despite the pub's reputation in mainstream news media as some fantastical glittering nirvana for "troubled" singers, it really was just a decent boozer. Probably a tad passé for some of the more trendoid tendencies of this world now, but it had charm, especially in the afternoons when it wasn't too packed.

The people behind the Hawley had only a couple of weeks ago launched their second pub, Clerkenwell's Wilmington Arms, which has a gig space, and a small record label, which had just released its first single.

They're sure to recover from this, as are the Canal market traders whose livelihoods are also threatened by the inferno of 9th February. There will be a rallying round. And some time soon, when the refurbishments are complete, the Hawley will have an excellent excuse for a big relaunch party. Hell, they might even attract some slebs along. Here's hoping it's not too long before we can toast the Hawley's reincarnation. And maybe it should consider a name change to herald its new era. The Phoenix, perhaps?

Camille - Money Note (and other funnies)

Maybe on a cybertrawl you've caught American comedian Sarah Silverman, playing her guitar and pouting into a camera as she tells boyfriend Jimmy the way things are, in this video:

Who'd have thought Matt Damon could do such a good job of a duet while playing himself so convincingly? Well I never. Quite the multi-tasker.

Anyway, I mention this by means of circuitously coming round to the kind of track I rarely hear. It's not only technically brilliant and full of hooks, but it's screamingly funny too, and at the expense of all the right people. Money Note is a first taster of Camille's new album Music Hole, which is due over here on 7th April. (Check out Wikipedia's explanation of what a money note is.)

Camille's last album Le Fil (2005 in France, 2006 in the UK) was an extraordinary recording based on a 'thread' or note, with the sometime Nouvelle Vague vocalist stretching and breaking her voice to create all sorts of sounds. These she'd then layer and loop into a modern-day symphony for vocal sounds and marry these to French and English lyrics. Björk's similarly a capella Medullah came nowhere near it. If Money Note is anything to go by, Music Hole looks like taking her on to another level again. I for one absolutely love it.

If, like me, you can't wait to hear Camille's new material, Money Note is available on a compilation CD (those round, silvery things people used to buy) called French Talent 08. Better still, Camille plays London's KOKO on 14th May - ahead of a series of concerts at Paris's beautiful La Cigale. So this time the French are letting les rosbifs in on the act from the off - what generous spirits they are. À votre santé.

More, naturellement, can be found at her MySpaz.

More new music

Following Michael's blog about the new music that's tickling his fancy, so to speak, I thought I'd chip in with my favourite new acts of the moment.

First up, The Gadsdens - a four-piece from London who actually don't sing in a regional accent, have piano based songs that don't sound like Keane and are fronted by a man with a voice that's a dead-ringer for none other  than Tracy Chapman. Songs like Stalker's Tango and The Confession are stark, dark and moving, while Sailor Song just sounds desperately moving. They're unsigned at the moment, but that's sure to change pretty soon.

Hear more: http://www.myspace.com/thegadsdens
Key Track: The Sailor Song

There are a hell of a lot of female singer / songwriters out there right now, but one that I keep coming back to is the appropriately named Emmy The Great. Emma-Lee Moss was born in Hong Kong and has been a regular fixture on the London gig cicuit for the last three years.

She's collaborated with the likes of Jeremy Warmsley and Lightspeed Champion, and Kate Nash can't seem to get through an interview without plugging her. Her MySpace page will give a pretty good idea of the literate, yearning folk on offer, but at the time of writing is missing Canopies & Grapes, a heartwrenching account of a relationship breakup.

Hear more: http://www.myspace.com/emmythegreat
Key track: Canopies & Grapes

Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip probably don't really count as a 'new act' anymore, but they're still a lot less well known than they should be. Le Sac provides the slightly barmy electro-pop backing over which MC Scroobius Pip quickly garbles out quick-fire, articulate rhymes. The Beat That My Heart Skipped should have been a much bigger hit than it actually was, but it's Thou Shalt Always Kill that proves the most addictive - a series of 'new commandments' which range from "Thou shalt not think any male over the age of 30 that plays with a child that is not their own is a paedophile" to "thou shalt not put musicians and recording artists on ridiculous pedestals" before reminding us that The Clash, The Beatles and Arctic Monkeys were "just a band".

Hear more: http://www.myspace.com/lesacvspip
Key track: Thou Shalt Always Kill

Black Kids have been touted as a mix as The Cure and Arcade Fire, and as strange as that hybrid may sound it does actually work. They've already been blogged to death (helped by the free download release of the excellent Wizards Of Aaah EP) and are due to support both Sons And Daughters and Kate Nash in the next month or so. Expect to  be bouncing around to Hurricane Jane and I'm Not Going To Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You (the latter already covered by Ms Nash) for the remainder of the year.

Hear more: http://www.myspace.com/blackkidsrock
Key track: Hurricane Jane

And finally, Glasvegas have already caught the attention with their dramatic Daddy's Home single, released at the tailend of last year. Feedback aplenty, waves of noise and broad Scottish accents all combine to create something some startling. The aforementioned single was a haunting tale of parental abandoment, but the forthcoming It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry will surely grab all plaudits - and not just for that memorable title.

Hear more: http://www.myspace.com/glasvegas
Key track: It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry

Guillemots - Red: first great pop album of 2008

Round about this time last year I'd already picked my album of the year, LCD Soundsystem's Sound Of Silver. I fear the same may have happened this year.

There are almost certainly other ***** albums waiting in the wings. But I've not managed to get Guillemots' Red, their second album, out of my mind even at other people's gigs. I'm getting a bit obsessed. It is 2008's first great pop record.

If you hand over your personal data to Polydor, you can download the stunning opening track Kriss Kross for nout.

With its mix of Arabesque drama and Elton John's I'm Still Standing, it's one of the stand-out tracks, but so many of the others are too.

Get Over It, which you can hear at their MySpaz, is far and away the poppiest thing they've yet made, but its motoring bass and Beach Boysy whoo-hoos, along with an off-kilter beat, remind that Guillemots have a huge arsenal not only with their songwriting abilities, but also with production and arrangement.

I saw them three times around the last record, which was Mercury nominated, so I'm well aware how ace they are live. But this album is better than the first one. After careful consideration, and several listens, as far as I'm concerned it is quite simply genius.

Full review to follow soon. Get anticipating.

Music videos are back: Hercules And Love Affair and The Kills

Towards the end of 2007 we ran down our music videos section. With the rise of YouTube and Apple's music video content, less people - including us - wanted to fanny about with plugins, some of which worked for Mac, some for PC and some for neither.

We'd contemplated shutting the section entirely and posting videos into this blog instead, but while we still might occasionally do that to illustrate blog comments, we do feel the videos section is a handy way of flagging up new signings, tours, releases and general excitement for acts we like.

So at the start of this year we've redesigned the videos section to feature less content, choosing to highlight lead singles, one-offs and exclusives, viewed with YouTube. No more plugin fannying. \0/

We expect to select two or three videos a week in the section for the rest of the year. The old video links will remain in place for now too.

Do let us know what you make of the changes, either by commenting here or through that vintage communications device known as email, and get in touch if there's a music video you reckon we should post.

Liverpool Capital Of Culture 2008

It seems to have been a long time coming, but 2008 is eventually here and with it Liverpool's coronation of European Capital Of Culture.

Forget for one moment the snide remarks about shell suits and criminals and focus on the fact that Liverpool is home to stunning architecture such as St George's Hall and the Royal Liver Buildings, the Walker Art Gallery and the Tate Modern, and a thriving theatre scene.

Of course, Liverpool has always had a rich musical history. It may have been overshadowed at times by the city's bitterest rivals of Manchester, but Liverpool has still managed to produce The La's, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Lightening Seeds, The Teardrop Explodes, Wah!, The Boo Radleys, The Coral, The Zutons, Candie Payne and four blokes who called themselves The Beatles or something. And yes, we'll draw a veil over Atomic Kitten and Sonia, thank you very much.

At first glance at the 2008 programme, it's difficult not to feel a touch of disappointment at the musical events on offer. An over-reliance on The Beatles is to be expected, given the band's impact on popular culture, but a Ringo Starr gig to kick off proceedings isn't exactly going to set the heart racing. Look a bit closer though, and there's several events that leap out. Paul McCartney (still a living legend, despite tabloid tittle-tattle) will play a huge gig at Anfield Stadium, with a presumably stellar supporting cast yet to be confirmed, and a huge new 10,000 arena to be opened.

There's also free festivals such as the Matthew Street Festival in August and the Hope Street Festival in September, plus regular events such as Creamfields and the Liverpool Summer Pops. Not to mention the return of legendary classical figures Simon Rattle and Karl Davies, both performing at the city's beautiful Philharmonic Hall.

Perhaps the biggest coup for the organisers though is the MTV Europe Music Awards, to be held at the Echo Arena on 6 November, and the Electric Proms - to be held outside of London for the first time. It's the latter that's likely to be the highlight for Liverpool's music lovers - with a wide variety of venues across the city and the big names that always figure at the event in Camden during October, this is pretty much a must-see.

So what do you make of the whole idea of a Capital Of Culture? Will it result in investment and regeneration, as happened in Glasgow in 1990? Or is it a meaningless title foisted on the city by the European Union? Could and should the money be better spent? Are you planning to travel to Liverpool to see any events, and if you live in the city have you been caught up in the excitement, or is it a non-event to locals?

New music to love

What a lot of rather ace music there is coming out soon.

Rather than wait for album and track reviews to eventually drift in to the reviews sections, here's a few flagging-ups of music to get excited by. Ready?

Hercules & Love Affair featuring Antony - Blind

One of several new collaborative efforts from Antony (& the Johnsons) Hegarty, this one's off DJ Andrew Butler (aka Hercules & Love Affair)'s soon-to-be-released-by-DFA album. It lasts for more than six minutes and reinvents Antony as a dance diva. Quite right too. I've no idea when it's released, but the MP3 can be heard here.

Sons & Daughters - This Gift

If you missed their coruscating cover of Adamski's Killer, B-side of this album's lead single Gilt Complex and surely one of the best cover versions ever made of anything, fret not. On 28th January you can make amends and pick up the Scottish band's own material. Full of energy and very, very loud, we suspect this Domino-released record will make this year's albums-of-the-year lists no matter what else appears during 2008. Check out their MySpaz page for some tunes.

Joe And Will Ask? - remixes and first releases

They headlined musicOMH.com's November gig at London's Good Ship and we've loved them since. After remixing Milke and Crystal Castles they've just signed to Andrew Friendly's Gulp Communications digital label and have their first releases slated for spring. Technotrance to make you dance. MySpaz.

These New Puritans - Beat Pyramid

This intelligent and frenetic album is released on 28th January on Angular Recordings. These New Puritans are angular. They even have angular-looking twin brothers in amongst all the synths, computers and (whisper it) guitars. They were ace on the Vice tour supporting Crystal Castles last year. File slightly to the left of Foals and have a listen here.

Temposhark - The Invisible Line

Finally, Messrs Diament, Busby et al have finished their debut album, something like three years after their debut single. Synths to the fore, pouts at the ready, this is electropop for discerning dance bunnies and it's released on their own label Paper & Glue on 3rd March. Meantime, there's always MySpaz.

And if none of that lot butters your parsnips, there's always Rufus Wainwright pretending to be Judy Garland at the Carnegie Hall...

2008 preview: new acts to watch

By way of getting 2008 moving, I've knocked together a New Acts To Watch feature comprised of bands and artists yet to release debut albums.

Who's your tip for the top? And what do you make of mine?

Best albums of 2007: the list

Our pick of this year's best albums:

http://www.musicomh.com/music/features/albums_review-2007_1207.htm

We'll still be sporadically publishing features and reviews in the music and film sections over the break, with normal service resumed on Wednesday 2nd January.

Meantime, thanks for reading in 2007, happy Christmas and all the best for your 2008.

Fanciful kisses,

Michael and all at musicOMH.com

Christie Hennessy RIP

We heard the sad news today that Irish singer-songwriter Christie Hennessy passed away early this morning after a short illness.

If you're unfamiliar with Christie's work, there's a brief biog below, plus links to his music and an interview on YouTube, recorded last year.

http://www.redgraperecords.co.uk/artists/christie.html
http://www.christiehennessy.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xX2Pj3iqD-w

Karlheinz Stockhausen RIP

Karlheinz Stockhausen has died, aged 79. 8-(

BBC News

Albums of the Year?

We're getting into lists territory, it being mid-December.

My album of the year hasn't changed since I first heard it back in January (there's a clue for you).

What's yours? Why? Maybe you have more than one?

Christmas Number One - by Black Box Recorder?

It's unusual for us to quote a press release in full.

But, as email after email arrives announcing the most unlikely bands releasing Christmas songs - Asobi Seksu's Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight) and Simone White's Christmas Makes Me Blue both dropped today - special mention is due for The Black Arts' debut release, entitled simply Christmas Number One, which will appear through Fantastic Plastic.

The Black Arts, to explain, are Art Brut's Eddie Argos plus John Moore, Luke Haines and Sarah Nixey, aka Black Box Recorder. The collaboration on paper has us seasonally salivating. We'd never have said such things about Slade.

Herewith:

BLACK BOX RECORDER & EDDIE ARGOS ARE
THE BLACK ARTS
Christmas Number One

"We wrote it on the beach in August as the snow began to fall,
A Christmas Number One could be a blessing for us all..."

In an inspired meeting of minds, Black Box Recorder and Art Brut's Eddie Argos have joined forces to form The Black Arts, whose first (and perhaps only) release is set to be this year's essential Christmas single. Following in the tradition of such masters of the seasonal rocker as Wizzard and Slade, Christmas Number One once more unites sleigh bells, blazing guitars and children’s choirs for three and a half minutes of festive fun.

The song was conceived by Black Box Recorder's John Moore, who having endured an utterly appalling summer, decided that the year must end on a blissfully high note. In a rush of optimism, the idea of a Christmas Number One seemed entirely plausible. Much of the song spilled out of the ether late one Sunday evening, sounding somewhere between William Burroughs and Slade. Turned over to Luke Haines for inspection and dissection, a towering middle-section was added, and quite properly, respectful references to Britain’s former-first men of Christmas - Noddy and Roy were added. The fecund glacial goddess Sarah Nixey was alerted and asked not to give birth until her mellifluous vocal frosting could be added, then with a final sprinkling of vocal magic from Eddie Argos, the song reached pure pop perfection.

The relationship between Art Brut and Black Box Recorder began three years ago when John witnessed an hereoically pissed Art Brut playing a tiny gig in Reading, and then bonded with Eddie backstage over a dog-eared copy of Just William. The relationship then developed to the point where a musical collaboration became inevitable.

Christmas Number One will be available as a download from 3 December and as a rather fetching limited edition eco-sustainable Christmas tree green 7" from 10 December on 'Fantastic Plastic'.

According to Luke Haines: "When you're doing your last minute shopping at Woolworth's and you've heard 'Christmas Number One' for the eleventh time in a row, don't worry, it will all be over by January. The Black Arts are for Christmas, not for life'

Or are they? As Sarah Nixey reveals “ It was all over wasn’t it? I hadn’t the heart to tell them the truth.”

Christmas Number One will be released on 3rd December (download) and 10th December (limited edition 7") on Fantastic Plastic Records.

Interview: LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy

At last. I've published the first of my series of interviews with groundbreaking electro artists.

This one is with LCD Soundsystem's front man and main songwriter, DFA Records head honcho and general all-round hero-god James Murphy.

He divulges some natty recording techniques, namedrops some synths, speculates on Daft Punk's living arrangements and bigs up Brooklyn, amongst much else.

This piece comes ahead of the physical release of LCD's 45:33 project. We'll call it 'project', I think - it's the length of an album, costs about the right price for an album but looks a bit like a single. He's got a Fabric Live mix CD out too, co-spun with LCD/DFA compadre Pat Mahoney. Quite the busy boy.

And yes, I did say 'series'. The next piece isn't with an American artist. Nor a Brit. A big virtual gold star for whoever guesses who it is.

If you lose your love of music then the end can't be long...

Oh eck... where to begin? I have had too much Southern Comfort and too much Best of The Libertines: Time for Heroes and therefore I think that blithering on at you drunkenly is a good idea.

But that's what rock'n'roll is all about, innit?

See I love The Libertines. I love The Libertines so much it hurts, and getting a Best Of... album to review is all the excuse I need to drag out a few old bootlegs and reflect on how, legitimate song for legititmate song, I probably own more Libertines bootlegs than any other type of music at all. Maybe because they produced more, maybe just because they were just worth having more than anything else.

I should never have liked The Libertines. I was way into my 30s before I first discovered them, supporting Morrissey of all people, and before anyone knew it I was obsessed with young Mr Doherty and his long suffering pals, sending mates who worked in HMV off to find me obscure CD singles before they'd even heard of him. Oh how I laughed when he started to take over their celebrity magazines and popbitch column inches. The Libertines are so fucking good.

I watched the car crash of the Max Carlish documentaries with wonder, knowing that his obsession with Pete was not too far from mine. I read the Books of Albion, closed my eyes and dreamed the dream. I only saw The Libertines that once with Pete, although I saw them twice again without. I've lost count of the times I've seen Babyshambles and Dirty Pretty Things. Sometimes they touch the magic, but even when they do I wonder if it's half in my mind.

I have only crowd surfed once in my life, to Dirty Pretty Things at the Astoria, as they launched into I Get Along. In memory of The Libertines.

And what is this all about? Nothing really, except that since submitting my review of The Best of The Libertines this morning, I have done little else but listen to variations on Legs 11 and the Chicken Shack sessions all day. Beautiful, fragile versions of songs that would not become more familiar for years, such as Music When the Lights Go Out and Kill A Man For His Giro (not sic) plus those we have never been treated to officially.

I love The Libertines. The mark of a great album is one that leaves you wanting more, and this is what the Best Of... did this morning. If you don't already have more, go and find it, now. Download to your heart's content, because there's so much all over the internet that you'll never get it all.

They are the band of the century so far. I hope, oh God do I hope, that there will be others as good as them, but if not, at least we had them.

Jenni x

BBC Electric Proms

The second year of the Beeb's Electric Proms season is upon us and gets underway this evening in Camden.

Over the next five nights music and music-related films take over NW1. Here's our preview.

Amongst tonight's shows, Sigur Rós showcase their film Heima and its soundtrack album with an acoustic performance and a screening - a similar show is scheduled for the BFI at the start of November, and a nationwide release of the film is upcoming.

Meanwhile, Mark Ronson, the BBC Concert Orchestra and guests headline the Roundhouse, supported by The Coral and - we're reliably informed - Noel Gallagher is expected to make an appearance there.

And Siouxsie Sioux will be strutting her stuff at the Electric Ballroom.

We'll be covering the festival this year with a mix of reviews and blog entries from Camden.

But if you're not in London, the BBC has laid on an even wider range of viewing and listening options this year. Interactive TV, the web, TV and radio all offer the shows either live and/or on demand after the event. Full details of which can be found at the Electric Proms website.

Do let us know what your highlights are.

The passion of the McFly fans

Last night, I wrote a review of the new McFly single, The Heart Never Lies. Have a read.

I wasn't that impressed with the single, despite the fact that I don't actually mind McFly. I think they've done some good pop songs, and as anyone who knows me will tell you, I'm a sucker for a good pop song. I'm far too old to worry about looking 'cool' and if I like a good pop song that'll stay number 1 for a while, I'm quite happy to say so.

Anyway, I gave The Heart Never Lies a negative review, which upset the McFly fans no end. All night I've been reading emails from the fans, berating me for my bad taste, demanding I retract the review or just calling me a 'hater'. While some were just abuse, there were also other articulate, well-written arguments - which made me wonder why these people weren't joining us as writers.

While I was quite surprised, I was also quite impressed. To have that much passion and enthusiasm for a band that you can mobilise an army of people online to track down the reviewer concerned and tell him exactly what you think of him (although ladies, check the spelling next time eh?) is an impressive achievement.

It made me think about myself in fact. I like to think I'm a pretty passionate music fan - which is one reason I write for this site. Yet if I read a negative review of a band that I like, then I just kind of shrug, think "huh, what do they know?" and get on with reading the rest of the site/magazine. I just don't have the energy or passion to mobilize my friends and war a campaign against the writer. It's not that important to me - but should it be? Maybe I'm just not as passionate or interested in music as I once was - maybe when I was 18 I would have sat down and scribbled a letter of protest, but nowadays, I just couldn't be bothered. The thought of not being passionate about music scares me, but maybe I'm not.

I can understand fans of unknown bands getting annoyed over bad reviews, as that could affect someone's decision whether to buy the record. Yet a band like McFly are critic proof anyway - The Heart Never Lies is going to be a massive hit, and nothing that I write about it could prove otherwise.

So what do you think? Do you take it personally when you read a negative review of someone you like? Or do you just think "ah what-eva", and buy the record regardless? If you're a fan, do you hate reading negative reviews?

Genuinely interested to know what other people think, and if you're one of the many McFly fans who were upset by the review, would love to hear your (well-reasoned) arguments too.

"Social networking sites" and music

"Social networking sites." MySpace, Facebook, Bebo in standard parlance. Do you use them?

According to the mainstream media peeps, Facebook is taking over the universe. It has a moon for breakfast, a planet for lunch and a star for dinner. Maybe, maybe.

But for those of us who were able to instantly hear a huge range of music online through MySpace, the now News Corp-owned mother of all social networking sites (at least till the start of 2007), Facebook has left out MySpace's crucial music features.

Yes, Facebook works better and connects you to people you actually know rather than randoms - usually, anyway. Friends on MySpace are, sometimes, lists of mutual appreciation. On Facebook they might well have been to uni with you and suddenly turned up 10 years later (naming no names...). And Facebook is a cleaner design, has far fewer errors and, crucially, allows one to poke and be poked. But Facebook's music functions are, to be nice, naff.

MySpace has none of these networking thrills but remains the undisputed place to hear and be heard. What's more, by allowing users to design their own pages with a variety of free software, it does allow for something like an individual representation of identity. One need not be blue and white. (As an aside though, why do people make their MySpace pages so slow to download? We don't need white semi-transparent overlays. They're tedious. Get rid.)

As with Amazon's endlessly nearly-arriving digital downloads shop, rumours of Facebook's rebuild to showcase music in a way as successful as MySpace has and does have been circulating for ages. Almost as long as suppositions about whether Google will schnaffle the company before Microsoft does.

For the moment at least it's still MySpace where new music can be heard, where tour dates are listed and where, at least grudgingly, anyone serious about new music must still tread. But it'll be Facebook where the talking happens.

Cover versions

Cat Power is to release her second album of cover versions in January.

Which got me thinking that old favourite - what's your favourite cover version?

Post them here...

Madonna ditches Warner

According to The Times, Madonna is to walk away from Warner and jump into bed with gig promoters Live Nation instead in a deal reputedly worth $120 million (£60 million).

Her recent Confessions Tour grossed $260.1 million worldwide, according to Billboard magazine, with £11.8 million coming from her London dates alone - at Live Nation-managed Wembley.

Following Radiohead's decision to self-release new album In Rainbows and Paul McCartney's Starbucks deal, both at the expense of erstwhile label EMI (itself now swallowed up by private equity outfit Terra Firma), Her Madgesty's decision is likely to further the already decaying state of the majors.

Prince's album giveaway essentially nullified his deal with Sony BMG in the UK, which was left with nothing to sell. The Charlatans are allowing fans to download their new album for free. Trent Reznor looks set to leave Universal-owned Interscope and has been encouraging fans to steal Nine Inch Nails' music gratis. Reports this week suggest that Jamiroquai and Oasis are seriously looking at non-traditional means of releasing their music. What started as a pioneering foray into a brave new digital world now looks like a headlong rush to end the status quo of (in particular) the majors.

But who, if not record labels, is going to fund the career development of the next Madonnas, Princes, Reznors and Radioheads? It's one thing for MySpace to help a career to gain exposure, as in the case of Lily Allen, Kate Nash, the Arctic Monkeys et al, but quite another for that to translate into an income stream to pay for tours.

While Madonna's deal is quite different again to what Radiohead have done, it poses as many questions for the record labels. And fans shouldn't be surprised if, as artists come to rely increasingly on touring to make ends meet, gig ticket prices escalate into realms previously not even countenanced by Barbara Streisand.

At the other end of the scale, as majors inevitably reign back artist advances, will the DIY ethic of music-making become the dominant, rather than the indie, route to success? And if so, will music-making become the privilege of the wealthy few?

Interesting times ahead, anyway.

Another week, another award ceremony

This week, the Q Awards took place, amazing us with revelations such as Amy Winehouse is pretty good, the Arctic Monkeys are 'the best act in the world today', Kate Nash is a promising new songwriter and that Kylie Minogue is a "Q Idol" (even Kylie wasn't too sure what this was all about, saying "Just don't ask me what it means, but I'm very grateful").

Once upon a time, we had the BRITS (or the BPI Awards as they were known), and that was it. Sure, they were an utter embarrassment, usually awarding Annie Lennox an award even if she hadn't released a record, but they were all we had. Then the NME decided to stage The Brats, to stick it to the man and give awards to scruffy indie types who, like, swear and everything.

Now, you can't move for award ceremonies - one week it's the Mercury Music Prize, the next week its the MTV Video Awards. And what do they all signify? Absolutely nothing - the irony is that the same acts that the Brats were set up to acknowledge are acclaimed by the Brits. The alternative has become the mainstream.

Is our addiction to award ceremonies just devaluing our music? Do we really care that the readers of Q Magazine believe Ian Brown to be a living legend? Will people who've not heard The World Is Yours think "you know, I was never that bothered about that Stone Roses bloke, but if Q readers like him, I may just check him out".

Or are they, in reality, an excuse for our nation's pop stars to get royally pissed up on free booze, and a gilt-edged opportunity for Q, MTV or whoever to gain a shedload of free advertising?  Just once, it would be nice if a month went by where we were award-ceremony free.

The good old days?

Music fans, like football fans, are forever bemoaning the 'way things used to be'. Football fans look back on days when burly 15 stone gents launched themselves into their opponents before hoofing the ball up to the centre-forward. All watched while munching on a very nasty pie while icy wind lapped at their weather-beaten face.

It was ace, wasn't it? Much better than sitting in comfort watching some of the most skilful players in Europe dribble, step-over, shoot from distance etc. And for those who do hark back to the old days, there's always Robbie Savage.

Music fans have a similar tendency to gaze with nostalgia at years gone by. For example, when I was growing up, if I wanted to buy a new album I used to have to get a train into Liverpool or Southport (there was just one record shop in our village, and you'd have to wait at least a fortnight for any new releases). I'd find the nearest 'big' record shop (inevitably HMV, Virgin or - remember this? - Our Price) and rush to the 'new releases' section.

Then, it would be a case of searching through the alphabetical racks, eagerly searching out that particular album. You'd gaze at the sleeve (every sleeve, without exception, looked better on old-school vinyl records), and take it to the counter. You'd then have a seemingly endless wait while the assistant disappeared into the back of the shop to match up the sleeve with the vinyl, which were all hosted in a mysterious looking row of shelves behind the counter.

You'd then embark on the journey home, which was the really exciting part. On the train back, I'd take the vinyl disc from the sleeve, take in that delicious vinyl smell and study the inner sleeve notes like they were the most important thing in the world. If lyrics had been printed, I'd obsessively read them, trying to find any sort of meaning and wondering what melody they'd be married to. Sometimes I'd even conjure up a tune in my head for some tracks, being genuinely surprised when I eventually heard the album to hear a completely different melody.

I'd eventually arrive home and rush upstairs to my turntable - carefully placing the record down, taking care not to leave any fingerprints on the vinyl, and slowly drop the needle onto the disc. And then I'd spend the next four weeks or so listening to each and every song, letting it become a part of my life, even if I did have to jump up after 20 minutes to turn the record over. And a month or so later, I'd repeat the process all over again.

Back then, albums literally were a part of my life. I can, even now, recite track-listings of albums I bought when I was about 14 or 15 - I can remember which order they were played in, where the singles were (usually the first 2 or 3 tracks of an album), which track was the best (usually halfway through the second side for some reason) and even which parts of a song the needle would jump on (years later, I heard a MP3 of Faron Young by Prefab Sprout and discovered a whole new line in there that, thanks to my dodgy stylus, I didn't even know existed).

I look back on those days with fondness - of course I do. But if I'm honest, would I really want to swap them for today's music-buying experience. Nowadays, you can read a review of a band online or in a magazine, and literally within minutes, can be listening to that band. There's no trips into town, no searching round record shops - just point and click.

There's a romantic naivety in play here - that same idea that convinces you that TV programmes you watched as a child, such as Blake's Seven or Monkey, were really good. When, in actual fact, they were some of the most shockingly amateur programmes ever inflicted in the history of broadcasting.

You may look back on those early days of buying music with a warm glow, but do you really want to swap them for the convenience and choice of today? I don't think I do.

Albums avalanche

After the frantic releasing activity of September and the first half of October, reviewers get to draw half a breath as 2007 begins to wind down towards Christmas.

For the last six weeks, up to 60 albums have been competing for attention every seven days, ranging from lauded indie new kids to established rock stars, and from avant garde electronica composers to folk heroes. Giving everything the attention it deserves is, at this time of year, quite a tall order.

But the compilation albums, novelty records and end-of-year features are already appearing, just as inevitably as the Beano annual creeps up on booksellers and Christmas puddings show up in supermarkets. It's that time of year.

At least the slight lull allows the chance to catch up with some of the albums released over the last six weeks, and to think back on which have been our favourite albums of 2007 so far.

Of course we'll be running an albums of the year feature come December. Will your favourite make the cut? Which records have been special for you this year and why?

Joy Division

With five star reviews almost across the board, the Ian Curtis biopic Control is even being talked about in certain circles as film of the year.

It arrives on our screens amid a plethora of Joy Division product releases. A BBC4 documentary charted the rise and fall of Factory Records, the band's label headed by the late Tony Wilson.

The three seminal Joy Division albums, Closer, Unknown Pleasures and Still, are being given the rerelease treatment as "collectors' editions" from Warner, each with a bonus CD of a Joy Division concert and comprehensive booklets.

And Anton Corbijn's biopic, with Sam Riley playing the late Curtis, looks set to bring the band's music to a whole new audience.

Joy Division are often, rightly, dubbed one of the most influential bands of all time. The career retrospective pieces these releases precipitate shed light on why, for those of us too young to have been swept up in it all first time round.

Radiohead's honesty box

So Radiohead's new album, In Rainbows, will be available as a download at a price specified by anyone downloading it. As their website says, "No really, it's up to you." As with programming and some blogs, Radiohead are asking fans to ascribe a value to their output.

Fans who want a physical product, available from the band's commercial arm WASTE, can buy a box set of goodies for £40 which includes all manner of CDs, vinyl, bonus tracks, artwork and who knows what else. That's a non-negotiable price, and many Radiohead completists will mind not one jot paying the price asked, even though they won't receive the product until December, nearly two months after the download becomes available on 10th October.

But it's really a first for a band of Radiohead's appeal to essentially give away a download, albeit one with a guilt complex attached to anyone choosing only to pay the 45p administration fee. At a stroke it surveys just how honest music fans are when it comes to consuming music and, unlike The Charlatans' recently announced album download giveaway through a radio station's website, it grabs column inches not just in the music press but in business news and main news sections of newspapers, radio and TV.

For sure bands starting out can't hope to employ this business model - one that might be described as buy before you try - but it certainly stokes the already raging debate on how music making can be funded.

A design for blogging

So, while others are out at their Saturday nights, here I am twiddling with a blog design.

It should look rather similar to the rest of musicOMH.com, at least on the front page. And of course it's not linked from the rest of the site yet while we test it out.

It is intended to replace the forum, which is spammed to death and underused by humans these days, with a network of blogs eventually being created across the site. The first one (that is, the one you're reading) is editorial comment from the music section.

With the comments, RSS and trackback features, it'll hopefully go some way to involving our readers with the site - an area we're aware has been somewhat lacking.